Research is a Chain Reaction

Sometimes research is easy: What’s the population of Springfield, Missouri? Or the average high temperature of Mesa, Arizona in October? One question, one answer.

More often, at least for me, research is a chain reaction.

Question: Where is the Rosario Mine in Honduras? I’m curious because my grandfather, on a steamer from Panama to San Francisco, wrote about ta “Secretary of the Rosario Mining Company 5000 ft. up in the Honduras Mountains, who came four days on mule back and twenty miles in an open boat to take our steamer.” So exactly where is the mine?

I found Rosario Mine–Internet research is great!–but where there used to be the mine, there is La Tigra National Park, so I search that. Do they have tigers there? Not exactly. It is named after the female puma, which is called la tigra, and yes, las tigras do live there–at least a few of them. Also, the mountain where the mine, and now the park, are located, is called La Tigra.

Now I want a photo of that animal. I search “puma, Honduras” and discover that “The Puma Energy brand is the leading oil products brand in Honduras.” Scratch that. Add “animal” to search.

Pumas are called, according to that site, “cougars, panthers, and mountain lions.” Not tigers. Are there tigers in Central America?

There is a “Tigers” soccer team: “While many fans in Nuevo Leon are dreaming of a 2017 Liga MX Apertura final between Tigres and local-rival Monterrey, each side still has semifinal series to navigate.”

There is El Tigre Island, on the Pacific side of Central America, which my grandfather sailed past in 1914 and mentioned in his journal.

That last site, All about Wildlife, seems like an excellent reference and the photographs distract me from the gold and silver mined at Rosario where you would now take a hike instead of digging a tunnel in La Tigra Mountain. I’ll take a break from my Panama book writing and learn about exotic animals for a while.